


The Path Ahead

by inviernos



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Background Promptio, F/F, FFXV Femslash Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 07:49:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14492244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inviernos/pseuds/inviernos
Summary: A weekend away with friends shows Luna exactly what she wants.





	The Path Ahead

**Author's Note:**

> Hello this was written for day 8 of FFXV Femslash week for the "alternate universe" prompt. ~~everything I write is an au~~ lol.

“Chilly out here, ain’t it?”

Luna had barely realized Gladiolous had been speaking.  She definitely hadn’t noticed the drop in temperature as they traveled closer to their destination either.  Since their surroundings had grown a lot more mountainous and green, she hadn’t really noticed much of anything else going on inside of the car anymore.  As she looked all around her, she silently thanked Gladio for convincing them to make the trip with the car’s top down.

Although she hadn’t been paying attention to more than their surroundings for a while now, she had definitely noticed when the atmosphere in the car had changed.  It was a gradual shift from everyone conversing normally as friends do on a long car ride to the songs on the radio becoming the only sounds as everyone sat around in silent awe.  Even the usually very chatty Prompto had become completely silent in the passenger seat as he focused on taking what pictures he could of the passing scenery.  If Luna had felt like fumbling with her newly acquired smartphone she would’ve taken a few pictures herself.

But for now she would gladly settle for taking in the sights of the tallest trees she had ever seen zipping by her, hoping that these images would stay with her for a long time now.  She sighed as she looked out towards her left.  There was no glass, no barrier to block her view as rows and rows of trees threatened to block out the sky and shade everything in green.  It wouldn’t be such a bad way to go, she thought to herself.  She could think of much worse ways to go than the sky, _this_ sky, suddenly crashing down on them. 

For the last few weeks, Gladio had been constantly reassuring her and Aranea that this place was even more beautiful than the pictures Prompto had shown them before in a bid to get them to go on one of their trips with them.  But if what she was seeing along the way there was only a fraction of that beauty, Luna could only imagine how much better it could get.  And truly, they didn’t have to try very hard to convince her that a weekend getaway in the mountains might be a nice idea.  She was almost disappointed when the unmistakable smell of nature started to drift away as Gladio put the top back up on the car.

“Aww, what’s the big deal?”  Aranea broke the silence to her right.

“It’s getting a little grey out there,” said Gladio. 

“Yeah, it starts raining at the drop of a hat up here,” Prompto added.

“Guess I can’t blame you for not wanting to ruin the inside of this nice new car,” Aranea shrugged.

Luna turned her attention back out the window, savoring what she could of the scenes outside until she felt something poking her shoulder.

“Hey,” said Aranea, giving Luna a gentle smile.

“Hello there, yourself.”  Luna smiled back.

“You doing okay?  You’ve been pretty quiet.”

Luna appreciated the concern she could sense in Aranea’s voice; but it was completely unnecessary.  She was simply appreciating the view and the company, after all.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Luna raised an eyebrow, to which Aranea shrugged.

“Guess I just wanted to hear your voice again then,” she said.

“Well, if you just wanted to hear me talk, you just had to ask…it is really pretty outside,” said Luna, smiling.

“It is,” Aranea agreed. 

“Thank _you two_ for inviting us,” she continued, raising her voice to get their friends in the front seat’s attention.

“Oh, don’t mention it!”  Prompto sat up in his seat and turned around to face them, only to find Gladio’s hand on his shoulder gently guiding him back down into his seat.

“How many times have I told you not to stand up while I’m driving?” Gladio asked.  “And put your seatbelt on!  I’m gonna get a ticket!”

“Yeah, yeah…sorry,” said Prompto as he slid back down in his seat. 

Luna and Aranea shared a laugh between themselves in the backseat as they both just barely caught him rolling his eyes at Gladio in the rearview mirror.  Luna was grateful for friends like these, especially Prompto who had introduced her to Aranea in the first place, and she was glad to be spending the weekend with them in such a lovely place.

Luna’s breath caught in her throat for a split second as Aranea took her hand and laced their fingers together.  She smiled at Aranea briefly before turning her attention back out towards the window.  The rain only served to enhance the beauty of the world outside of the car.  The feeling in Luna’s chest only grew as she sat with her hand in Aranea’s watching each tree outside grow more beautiful than the last.  The bits of sky she could see through the breaks in tree leaves were grey, but no less beautiful than just a few moments ago when the sky that remained above was a vibrant blue.  As much as Luna preferred warmer weather, she couldn’t help but feel that rain was what really made this place shine.  The only thing that could make it even better was the presence of those she cared about all around her.

The sound of Prompto and Gladio speaking quietly amongst themselves in the front seat just over the faraway whine of the radio filled Luna’s ears again just in time for her to realize Gladio had slowed down.

“Is this it?” she asked.

“Yup!” said Prompto happily. 

“Andddd, I can only park so close,” Gladio began as he stopped the car.  “Better get ready to run!”

Despite the rain, Luna slowly got out of the car and looked up to the sky.  A break in the trees allowed her to see the beauty of the grey sky as a steady rainfall began to pour down.  Movement from Gladio rushing to the front door of the cabin soon distracted Luna enough that she finally noticed her face was beginning to get wet and raindrops were falling into her eyes. 

She ran carefully up to the porch of the modest sized cabin.  It looked just like it had from Prompto’s pictures; the typical log cabin from the woodsy blogs of her and Aranea’s dreams.  As she made her way through the screen door, she stood in awe at how much bigger the cabin was on the inside. 

A large log pillar in the middle of the living room towered above her and helped support the sloped points of the roof above.  To her right was a small kitchen area, but big enough to comfortably cook in.  And just past the living room area was a door which she assumed was the bedroom.  She couldn’t tell where the bathroom was as she walked around the cabin, but remembered how thankful she was when they told her the cabin did indeed have working plumbing.

Luna stopped suddenly as the screen door slammed shut and she saw Aranea walking in trailing a suitcase behind her while trying to balance two different backpacks on each shoulder.

“Oh my god I forgot to even grab the bags,” she said as she tried to grab her weekend bag from Aranea.

“Just leave me out in the rain, why don’t ya?” Aranea said playfully.

“I’m so sorry.”  Luna dramatically placed a hand over her heart.  “I’ll make it up to you later, I swear.”

“You’d better,” said Aranea as she flopped down onto the couch, a small smirk at the corner of her mouth.

“Hey, before you get too comfortable,” Gladio’s voice boomed from somewhere in the cabin.

“You’re our guests and it’s only right-,” he continued, as Luna raised an eyebrow.

“Rock, paper, scissors- winner gets the bedroom, loser is on the pull-out couch.  Don’t worry, it’s a really comfortable sofa bed though.” 

“Yeah!  We tried it last time we were here and I-“Prompto began, before blushing and mumbling something to himself.

Luna tried not to laugh as Gladio momentarily looked like a deer caught in the headlights.  Though he was quickly back to his confident self and leaned over the back of the couch, gauging which of the girls would be the one to challenge him. 

Luna actually hadn’t given much thought to exactly where they’d be sleeping, she had just assumed there would be enough beds for everyone either way.  She truly didn’t mind though, just as long as she and Aranea weren’t sleeping outside.  But even that might have its perks in a place as beautiful as this, if only the weather would clear up.

“Oh no, I’ve got this-“ Aranea said before Luna could even respond.  She was up off of the couch in less than a second.  And just as Luna knew she would, Aranea already had her right hand in a fist beating against her left palm, giving Gladio no warning.  But unfortunately for Aranea, Gladio wasn’t caught off guard by her sudden start. 

Aranea looked on dejectedly at her paper.

Gladio, with his scissors.

Luna heard Prompto let out a small cheer somewhere from the kitchen.  She shrugged.

“Oh well,” she said, laughing to herself. 

“There’s much worse places to have to sleep, I suppose.”

There were definitely much worse places she could think to have to sleep without Aranea, anyway.

+

“Gods…” Luna muttered to herself as she sat up in bed.

Prompto had been right.  She hadn’t slept in many sleeper sofas throughout her life, but this had to be one of the nicest ones she had slept on so far.  Although she had a feeling that could mostly be attributed to the mattress she had melted onto when she had laid down to sleep earlier.  Luna had no idea the car ride up here had taken so much out of her. 

They hadn’t even started to hike or explore the outdoors yet, everyone deciding to get a good night’s rest so they would be well rested for the next day at dinner, earlier.  But it seemed the weather had other things in mind.  Luna would be exhausted either way if this kept up.  Every time she thought the worst had subsided and tried to close her eyes again, the booming thunder returned.

“Aranea…” Luna whispered to her right and received no response.

She didn’t exactly want to wake her up, and she knew it was silly but each time the thunder rumbled her heartrate sped up.  The silence of the cabin, with its considerable lack of electronics and lack of white noise only helped to make the sounds of nature even that much more frightening to her. 

Another part of her wondered how Aranea, or how anyone really, was sleeping through all of this noise.

“Aranea,” she whispered a little louder.

Again, no response.

“Ara…” she began.  “Oh…hmm.”

Luna noticed the glint of moonlight reflecting off of something silver in Aranea’s ears. 

“That’s…so smart,” Luna whispered quietly, though she swore she could almost see a smile on Aranea’s lips.  Luna had gone her entire life sleeping in complete silence with no television or anything on to distract her.  Listening to music to drown out the sound of the rain and thunder hadn’t occurred to her at all, but then again where they lived they never had to deal with the thunder ever being this loud.  Luna reached over and grabbed her own earphones out of her bag.  She opened the white noise app on her phone and without hesitation, put on the light rain loop.

She sighed and snuggled a little closer to Aranea under the blanket.  The sounds of rain recorded somewhere probably very far away filled her ears, making the real life thunder sound a little further away from her. 

But that was all she needed, and soon, Luna too found her own peace to fall asleep with Aranea.

*

Nature was performing its own concert as Luna enjoyed the scene of the might of the waterfall in the distance.  Unlike the thunder, the roar of the water plummeting over the edge of the rock above and slamming into the pool of dark, clear water below was as welcome as the sight it gave way to.  A sparse patch of lush green trees towered over the body of water on both sides, leading her eyes up to the slightly overcast sky.  But for as cloudy as it was, she could see for miles into the distance.  Past the waterfall, a taller mountain towered above it.  And past that she could make out more mountains in the distance.  It was cold out from the rain the night before, but it was nothing Luna couldn’t handle or hadn’t packed for. 

Luna was thankful that they were here with friends who had taken this trail before and knew a path that would take them the closest to the water but still keep them safe.  Luna wasn’t sure she would have known the proper distance to keep, or if she could even trust herself to stay a safe distance away when this wonder was so within her reach.

It still towered over them in the distance.  The sheer size of it reminding her that there were things far greater than her in this world.  This was just a fraction of what nature was capable of, and her she was seeing it in real life.  Although they had been walking along for some time now it felt like the waterfall was still just as far away as when it first came into their sights.  Just short of actually climbing the rock the water fell over, they would probably never get closer. 

“Think they’re about to leave us behind babe.”  Aranea’s smooth voice came from behind Luna.

Luna glanced to the right; Prompto and Gladio were inching further ahead but she could still make out their voices.  Prompto snapped pictures of the scenery, occasionally turning to Gladio and waiting for him to pose.  The two were in their own world; they really were being left behind.

“I’m just…”  Luna glanced up ahead again to the waterfall; momentarily without the words she needed to describe its splendor.

“I know,” Aranea agreed, sighing herself at the sight before them. 

“It’s too pretty,” a smile crept on Luna’s face.  She could at least find these words for this moment.  For this woman.

“But…you know, not as pretty as…”

“Don’t.  Don’t be a cornba-” Aranea held her pointer finger up as a warning, but Luna could tell she was trying not to smile.  Not that this would stop her anyway.

“You,” Luna finished her sentence, and promptly gave Aranea a quick kiss on the lips before taking her hand in hers and moving to close the distance between them and their friends on the path.  She didn’t even have time to revel in having flustered Aranea, before Prompto started to shout.

“We’re just about there,” Prompto said excitedly; stopping to grab yet another picture of Gladio walking along with the water in the background.

“This is as close as we can get and still catch any fish, I think,” said Gladio.

Thankfully the rain finally let up once Luna had fallen asleep and the group only had mud to contend with once they left on the day’s hike.  Luna didn’t exactly imagine they’d be going fishing on this trip, but Prompto had told her that Noctis always thought this was a pretty good fishing spot and Luna knew better than to doubt him.  She missed her best friend greatly since he moved for his job and wished he could be on this trip as well, but she knew without a doubt that he was having no trouble finding time to fish wherever he was now.

Even though they were still some distance back, the roar of the water spilling over the rock far above them and spilling into the pool below seemed to get considerably louder.  Somewhere in the back of Luna’s mind she was sure this was decibels louder than it was safe for ears to be exposed to, but if Prompto and Gladio had done this before it had to be safe.  And with a view like this she couldn’t really complain. 

“So…are they biting?”  Aranea asked.

“I guess we’ll see,” said Gladio as he cast a line out into the water.

“Usually the fishing is pretty good after it’s been raining.”

“I heard it sucks though,” said Prompto, snapping another picture of Gladio holding the fishing rod.

“I said, _we’ll see_.”

Luna laughed at her two bickering friends.

“I wish Noct was here though.  He’d be able to tell us…or at least catch a fish either way,” said Prompto.  Luna was amused at how somber his tone was against the background of the situation.  As if Noctis wasn’t just a phone call away.

It was silent for a few seconds, the sound of the water traipsing past them and Gladio fiddling with the reel the only background noise.

“Why are you talking about him like he’s dead?”  Aranea asked bluntly.

“He’s just out of the country!”  She laughed.

“I know,” Prompto said quickly, pouting.  “I just miss him is all.”

“I’m certain Noct would have at least caught some fish by now as well,” Luna joked. 

When Gladio turned around to raise his eyebrow at her, she put the most oblivious look she could muster on her face and smiled brightly at him before turning her attention back out towards the water.

Listening to the sound of the waterfall hitting the pool below and move past them was one of the most peaceful experiences she had ever had.  But she had to admit it was a shame it was so cold out, and there was only a slim chance of it warming up before they had to leave in the next few days.  Luna could only imagine that the scene before them would be greatly enhanced by warmer weather.  And if it was only a bit warmer Luna would want nothing more than to take a swim in the waters before them.

Aside from her lack of sleep due to last night’s thunder, she thought the trip had been going well so far.  Even though they only had a few more days left in the wilderness, she already knew that if there was the chance that Gladio and Prompto might invite them to come out with them again during the spring they would definitely take it. 

Or maybe, someday soon, they might even let her and Aranea borrow the cabin for themselves.  They were great enough friends that Luna didn’t think they’d deny her request if she ever mustered the courage to ask.

But maybe, a thought somewhere in the back of her mind prodded gently until it became real.  As she crouched down beside the water her reflection staring back at her, turned into that very thought.  It transitioned into visions of the future.  She could see herself and Aranea outside of their own cabin in a place not unlike where they were currently staying.

She could actually feel the warm weather and the sun shining down on them.  Aranea spun playfully in circles around a small yard of green grass as her flowy, red dress moved around with her.  Luna joined her in happily moving across the yard not long after.  She didn’t know what they were so happy about.  Maybe it was finally having their own space, maybe it was just being together.  But the more Luna thought on this scenario and the chance to travel even further, to have more adventures with Aranea at her side and then to return home where she would be, the happier she was.  Their last year together had not been nearly long enough; she wanted this to go on forever.

Maybe it could be exactly as Luna had pictured it.

“Babe…” Aranea said softly, bringing Luna out of her trance.

“You alright?”

“Yeah.” Luna shook her head, although she was much happier to see Aranea standing in front of her again. 

“I zoned out a little didn’t I?”

“I’d say,” said Aranea.  “You really didn’t hear any of that just now, did you?”

“Hear…what?”  Luna asked, eyes getting slightly bigger.  She must have been deeper into her daydream than she thought.

“Gladio finally caught some fish.”

“Oh?”  Luna raised her eyebrows, suddenly realizing how hungry she was.  “He did?  That’s great!”

“ _Yeah_ , and you didn’t even look our way when he started yelling after the first one.  Good thing I came to check on you.”  Aranea laughed softly.

“You sure you’re alright?”  Aranea asked, genuinely. 

“What’s got you so deep in thought again?  And don’t say you were caught up in the ‘majesty of nature’ again, you were looking at your reflection pretty hard there, babe.”

Luna felt herself start to blush, but was thankful Aranea would probably chalk it up to the cold breeze passing by them.

“I’m fine, Aranea,” said Luna.

“They were very good thoughts though, believe me.”

“Well good,” said Aranea, giving her a gentle smile.  “I think they’re ready to head back and make lunch now though, so we should get going…You can tell me about those _very_ good thoughts later.”

“You can count on it,” Luna smiled.  She took Aranea’s hand as they walked back to where Gladio and Prompto were currently packing up.

“Aranea,” Luna began.

“Hmm?”

“We should do this again,” she said.

“Do what?”

“We should come out here ourselves again during the summer or something,” said Luna.  

“We could make this an annual thing.  That might be nice, don’t you think?”

“Oh, _this_ ,” said Aranea, as her smile grew larger. 

“Going on more trips?  With just you?  I think I’d like that.  A lot.”

Luna felt like she could breathe again as Aranea ran her thumb over her hand and laced their fingers together.  To Luna the simple gesture held the promise of more, that this would go on longer, that Aranea was just as happy to be by her side as she was.

“Just say when, babe.”

+

The scent of wet earth drifted into the living room where Luna had been sleeping on the couch.  The sounds of a bird chirping from somewhere outside drifted in through the open window and sounded softly in her ears.  More shuffling and noises that sounded like someone was trying to be very quiet but continued to be betrayed by the various joints of the house soon joined the rest of the ambient noise.

Luna slowly opened her eyes, readjusting and looking up at the ceiling of the cabin to remember where she was.  She had fallen asleep almost immediately after lunch.  Memories of Prompto and Gladio proudly showing off their fish preparation skills and what they had accomplished without Noctis or Ignis around, began filling her mind and had already cemented themselves as treasured memories. 

But the cabin seemed far too quiet for now.  She didn’t think anyone else had gone to sleep after lunch and hated to think she was burdening anyone else who was trying to be quiet for her sake.  She opened her eyes all of the way and sat up, looking for the source of the small noises.  She looked around the living room and into the kitchen and saw no sign of anyone.

She sighed.  But as she listened closer there was the faint sound of music.  At first she thought it might be coming from the bedroom, but it didn’t sound like anything she knew Gladio or Prompto to listen to.  She listened closer and recognized the piano piece; something Aranea had played around her many times before.  It was one of her favorites, she said it always helped her to calm down or just stop and take a look around her.

Luna was glad to realize at least Aranea was still around the cabin but she didn’t know where.  She pulled the blanket off of herself and got up, stretching before setting off to find Aranea.

Though, she didn’t have to walk very far before the door to the back porch opened and Aranea walked in wide-eyed.

“Oh, look who’s finally up,” she said.

“What time is it?”  Luna asked.

“It’s like four,” Aranea replied.  “The guys went out for another walk so we’re got the place to ourselves for a bit.”

“Oh, I would have loved to go out again,” Luna said through a yawn.

“I mean…do you want to?”  Aranea asked seriously.  “I was just hanging out on the porch until someone woke up or they got back.”

“Well…we could but I’d rather not get lost where there’s no phone service,” said Luna.

“Smart lady,” Aranea shrugged.  “Guess the cabin is ours until they get back.”

“I guess so,” said Luna. 

“Come sit out there with me, it’s not too cold anymore.”

Luna stepped onto the porch as a soothing piano melody filled her ears.  A cool breeze blew past her, but it wasn’t so cold that she wanted to go back inside.  She joined Aranea on the wooden patio bench outside that was just big enough for the two of them, and wrapped the blanket that was thrown across the back of the chair around both of them.

Aranea scooted closer until Luna could feel her body pressed against hers.  Luna wrapped her arms around Aranea and pressed a soft kiss to Aranea’s lips.  She pulled back and Aranea smiled before pulling her close once again.  Luna could feel her heartbeat as she pulled the blanket tighter around them, keeping them both warm.

As the sounds of the outdoors grew louder in her ears, the kiss deepened. And as surely as she felt Aranea’s lips move against hers and her body ever trying to get closer, she could feel nature moving all around them.

Luna could really get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you for reading if you made it this far!


End file.
